Energy Minister Reveals Plan
To Restructure Petroecuador

By

Cesar Augusto Sosa Staff Reporter of El Comercio

Updated Aug. 18, 1998 5:33 a.m. ET

Ecuador's new Energy Minister, Patricio Ribadeneira, proposed a wide-ranging restructuring of Petroecuador, the state oil company, as one of the keys to the country's economic reform, in an interview with El Comercio published Tuesday.

The changes would end Petroecuador's dependence on funds derived from oil earnings but allocated by the Finance Ministry. Instead, the firm, which has long played a central role in the nation's economy,...